


cakes, wine, and seduction

by bidness



Series: Tumblr Prompts [5]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Cake, Cute, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, POV Alec, Pre-Relationship, Sweet, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:00:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24552781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bidness/pseuds/bidness
Summary: “It’s good,” Alec says, nodding his head and twisting his features in a way that he hopes conveys pleasant surprise. If Magnus’ perked brow and wry smile are anything to go off of, he’s not very successful.So, he scoops another measured bite and chews quickly with an over-exaggerated moan, because this is what people do, right?In which Magnus offers Alec cake, and Alec overthinks, as usual.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Tumblr Prompts [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764376
Comments: 16
Kudos: 79





	cakes, wine, and seduction

**Author's Note:**

> This is from a [sensory prompt:](https://bidnezz.tumblr.com/post/619841315951247360) "a too-rich dessert" from tumblr. It was only going to be a small couple paragraphs, but well... I have no self-control.
> 
> Enjoy!

_Life is funny sometimes,_ Alec thinks. Not in an ironic way, of course, because something about the fact that he’s sitting across from Magnus at his dining room table seems anything but unexpected. Not unexpected, but definitely, _definitely_ not appropriate. 

_“Come on in,”_ Magnus had said. _“I want you to try something.”_

Alec had been ready to decline, the words were all but out of his mouth when Magnus had slinked away into his loft, leaving his door wide open with the confidence that Alec would follow. He had followed, of course, but only because Alec’s moral compass was steadfastly true and it would have been rude to leave Magnus’ home exposed and welcome to intruders. He had done the right thing by going inside, right? 

With Magnus peering over a glass of wine and the softest content smile on his lips, he’s not so sure. It doesn’t feel wrong, despite the awkward set of his back, rigid and straight and overcompensating. It feels comfortable, easy even, and that scares him. 

“Are you going to have a taste?” Magnus murmurs against the glass pressed to his lips. He’s not drinking the wine that fills it, not doing anything other than balancing it between his dark polished fingers, but he makes it look as if that’s what it was made for. Magnus makes the glass seem as though it were created for the sole purpose of existing in his hands. Briefly, Alec wonders what Magnus thinks when he looks at him. 

It’s a thought that doesn’t warrant anymore of his time, so in place of dwelling he turns down to the dessert in front of him. Chocolate cake has never been Alec’s favorite. Growing up at The Institute and being taught to focus on proper meals and nutrition all his life left him little room to become partial to sweets, but that doesn’t stop him from cutting a bite out of the slice with his fork. 

It’s... sweet. Spongy. Moist in all the ways a cake should be. 

Magnus is still watching him, waiting and expectant for a response and Alec steadies his breath for fear of inhaling so quick he chokes on _cake_. “It’s good,” Alec says, nodding his head and twisting his features in a way that he hopes conveys pleasant surprise. If Magnus’ perked brow and wry smile are anything to go off of, he’s not very successful. 

So, he scoops another measured bite and chews quickly with an over-exaggerated moan, because this is what people do, right? 

Alec’s tongue begins to tingle, feels overstimulated and muddy with masticated chocolate that he wishes he could wash down with milk instead of the wine that sits in a glass beside his plate. It’s not that the cake isn't good, or that it tastes terrible. It’s delicious actually, but it’s triple chocolate and instead of taking baby steps into sweetness, Magnus has grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him so deep into the extravagance of it that his mouth can’t keep up. It’s too rich, too flavorful, too... _not Alec._

“Alexander, are these noises your attempt at seducing me?” 

He almost spits out the bits of cake in his mouth, the pieces left that are soggy with saliva and thoroughly disgusting, but he (thankfully) doesn’t, managing a harsh swallow instead. Magnus laughs, a chime of humor that resonates differently in the acoustics of his apartment than empty hallways from days prior. 

_Maybe they are,_ he wants to answer. But he doesn’t, because words like that are too indulgent for entirely inappropriate visits on Institute business. He came here for a reason, one that’s drifted away from him that he knows will return faithfully the moment he steps out into the fresh air of New York, level-headed and clear of Magnus. Magnus, who makes his brain muddled with chocolate and wine and _seduction._

“I have to—ah, that is... I should go.” 

Magnus hums against the glass still pressed to his lips, white where they touch. But he doesn’t stop him, and Alec tries not to think of the way those lips twist into a small frown, or the way Magnus’ eyes follow his steps out of the loft, or the way he feels his heart sink when Magnus doesn’t say anything as Alec clicks the door shut. 

Part of him feels silly for how his hands long to twist the handle into the loft, and how he wishes he could sit himself back into the chair across from Magnus and demand that he be taken to dinner first before he’s offered dessert. He still doesn’t remember why he even stepped foot into the building in the first place, something he knows he’ll be scolded for when he returns to The Institute, but the clench of his chest makes that detail seem so insignificant to the evening. 

The rushing wind of a door opening startles a yelp out of him, and he turns to face a wide-eyed Magnus who clearly wasn’t expecting Alec to be moping on his doorstep. 

“I have a tart you can try instead,” Magnus offers quickly. 

Alec wants to laugh, wants to let loose the tension that’s got him wound so tightly and just relax in the moment of Magnus inviting him back in. He should leave; he really has no right being here, taking up Magnus’ time for no reason other than the fact that being in Magnus’ presence makes him happy. _Let him down easy_ , he thinks. But that’s not what comes out. 

“Dinner first?” 

He almost believes he’s said it too softly, too uncertain in the hallway that feels like it’s becoming the only place his thoughts trickle into reality. But something in Magnus face shifts, the downward curve of his lips lifts and the smile he offers Alec is blinding white and magical, all Alec needs to knows he’s been heard. It makes his own smile form, hesitant and unsure, but hopeful. 

“Wonderful,” comes the whispered response, and the hallway doesn’t feel so empty between them anymore. Not when the brilliance of the expression on Magnus’ face makes the chocolate cake in Alec’s memory seem bitter by comparison. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> You can follow my [tumblr](https://bidnezz.tumblr.com/) and say hi if you want, send me prompts, look at my mediocre art, or if you just want to see a gratuitous amount of Alec Lightwood gifs!
> 
> Leave a kudos/comment if you liked it, I love hearing your thoughts!


End file.
